We arrived in Amsterdam yesterday morning, shuttled to the hotel, put bikes together, unpacked two suitcases into our numerous pannier piles, ate supper and collapsed.
Slept in this morning as our internal clocks are still in MDT. We have chores to do today so we force ourselves out of bed and get to it.
A shuttle ride and then a train ride takes us to the Amsterdam Central Train Station. We walk down Rokin Street looking for a Vodofone shop, to buy SIM cards, and a Geldmaat ATM to get some cash. After a some blocks and a few wrong turns we find both.
We line our panniers with plastic bags in case of torrential rain. I inadvertently only brought four bags instead of eight, so our third chore is to find a super market large enough to sell plastic garbage bags. This is the hardest chore to accomplish. We have 7-Eleven stores at home. In Amsterdam there are Albert Heijn stores, selling mostly quick prep meals or ready to eat items. It reminded me of the stores in Japan that sold similar items. We finally are directed to a larger Albert Heijn shop and find what we need.
With our chores done, we can now play tourist. We wander past an art deco theatre, stroll along canals and end up at the Stedelijk Museum, a contemporary art and design museum. I like the “old” stuff – Picasso, Mondrian, Kandinsky. The “new” stuff sometimes makes me want to discuss “What exactly is art?”
We were warned about the bicycles and to watch out for them. They are everywhere, and don’t always follow the rules, so we look both ways before crossing a bike path or road. They seem to go very fast in congested areas. All sorts ride bikes – young women in short skirts and high boots, guys in wide jeans and sneakers, old people, young people. The bikes are not fancy, mostly dark colours, sit up straight kinda bikes.
Fries are very popular here. NOT French fries, just fries. Served in a paper cone with a large dollop of sauce (ketchup for me) on the top. We sample this staple and enjoy every bite. Another popular food item is waffles. Decorated, iced, served over tea. We haven’t sampled waffles yet, but it is on the list!
We are now back at the hotel, listening to it pour rain outside. We will pack the panniers tonight as tomorrow, we hop on the bikes and head to Gouda.